Jia Wang
Jia Wang is the Deputy Director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta where she manages research, programs as well as government and media relations. The Institute’s main areas of focus are contemporary China studies, with an emphasis on Canada’s trade, investment and energy linkages with China, as well as maritime security issues involving the Canadian Arctic and the South China Sea. Jia also advises University senior leaders on China related matters and provides frequent media commentary on political and economic affairs of China.
Prior to joining the China Institute, Jia worked as a television news reporter, anchor and producer covering major political, business and cultural affairs for OMNI TV network from 2008 to early 2011. She also worked as a business consultant for Enbridge Pipeline Inc. and a conference interpreter for various business, government and educational agencies.
Jia holds Bachelor of Laws (first class honours) from Peking [Beijing] University and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Toronto. She had written columns for the largest Chinese newspaper and taught business communication and [cultural etiquette?] in Canada.
Jia Wang is helping to nudge free trade forward with China, as demonstrated in this article:
Canada Embraces Free Trade and Globalization
By Lisa Thomson
Canada’s economy is not in great shape. This past summer, 31,000 jobs were lost when 10,000 new ones were expected and the country’s trade deficit hit a record high of $3.6 billion.
But one thing that is going well for the Canadian economy is an effort to push ahead a pro-free trade agenda. These policies have come to the forefront most recently with the signing of the CETA free trade deal with Europe—in spite of opposition in Belgium—and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcementthat China and Canada would pursue exploratory talks about free trade.
The push toward free trade is bucking an isolationist trend, and in pursuing the option with China in particular, Canada demonstrates why free trade and globalization can be a path to diversity, independence, and maybe even human rights.
One of this year’s most prominent developments has been a retreat from globalization. Across Europe, politicians and citizens alike are rethinking open border and immigration policies while Britain voted in a referendum to withdraw from the European Union in an act of shocking isolationism. Above all, one of the hallmarks of the American presidential campaign has been a rejection of major international trade treaties by both parties’ candidates, mainly threats to tear up NAFTA and can the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Canada has 11 free trade agreements currently in force, and according to the World Bank, trade accounts for 65 percent of the country’s economy. The oldest deal is NAFTA, which came into effect in 1994 after superseding a previous deal between Canada and the U.S. from 1989.
Trade relations between Canada and the U.S. remain the bedrock of Canada’s trade policy, with Canada being the U.S.’s second-largest trade partner. In 2015, Canada-U.S. trade in goods and services totalled an estimated $662.7 billion. But by pursuing agreements with other countries, Canada is diversifying its options, which will result in straining its relationship with the U.S.
NAFTA is Canada’s only free trade agreement with one of the world’s top 10 GDP countries—the U.S. Canada does trade freely with other countries, including Panama, Israel, Chile, and Peru, but these aren’t exactly huge trade partners. Most of the countries Canada has agreements with have economies that rank in the top third of the world, often a far cry from the top 10.
Although the growth rate of China’s economy is slowing down, it’s the second largest economy in the world, which on the surface makes a trade deal appealing for Canada according to Jia Wang, acting director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta.
“Canada is rich in resources and needs capital, and China has a huge population and a huge market, and that’s what Canada doesn’t have,” she said.
In September, Trudeau travelled to China, where he signed $1.2 worth of trade deals, announced new visa centres, and he initiated talks for a free trade agreement.
Many Chinese in Canada’s business community have welcomed the announcement, including Yuen Dau Woo, president of HQ Vancouver, an organization that helps businesses relocate to Vancouver.
“It's very significant—it’s what I call the start-up of the Canada-China relationship. A relationship that was waiting to merge—it was waiting for the right time but stalled due to some bad decisions on the part of the previous government. There’s a new energy to bilateral ties and a new excitement to deepen and strengthen trade and investment relations.
Founded 15 months ago, Woo says HQ Vancouver has since been approached by seven Chinese companies signalling that they’ll establish North American or Canadian head offices in Vancouver. He is hopeful that increased investment between the two countries will benefit trade and cultural relations, but remains cautious about the reset and is waiting to see what follows.
Vancouver is possibly one of the best examples in Canada of a city focusing its energy on becoming globalized. With over 40 percent of its population of Chinese descent, it is often touted as the most Chinese city outside of Asia. Woo says Vancouver’s strong cultural ties to China have made the city the gateway to North America for many Chinese businesses.
Not only is Canada a gateway to North America, a continent with over half a billion people, but it is also a country with one thing China needs: natural resources.
Jia Wang welcomes increasing ties between Canada and China, saying that China is more eager for the deal than Canada.
She says,using trade as a way to move the needle on human rights has long been the underlying benefit of globalization. Rather than isolating nations and leaving them to their own devices, trade brings with it a degree of global accountability. Trudeau has staked his reputation on being a [moral authority], and if he’s going to hold onto his image as a beacon of human rights, dignity, and equality, then his government will have to try making discussions about China’s human rights.
Tracey Ramsey is a member of the NDP, Canada's opposition party, and is the Critic for International Trade and vice chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade.
“The NDP has serious concerns about human rights, labour conditions, environmental conditions,” she said. Ramsey stressed the importance of improving standards in these areas in any agreements, and emphasizes the importance of raising concerns around human rights violations in China as early as the stage of exploratory talks.
For her, any agreements going forward also need to benefit middle class Canadians. Deals must ensure small- and medium-size businesses will have access to the resources they need to establish trade with China and with global markets more generally. Ramsey recommends more business education that focuses on how companies can position themselves globally.
Xi Jiang, a Chinese-Canadian who lives in Vancouver, says she spends about five weeks each year doing business in China. With strong economic, cultural, and family ties to both countries, she too welcomes the move to improve relations. “People are human and we need to communicate to try to understand,” she said, advocating for efforts to find common interests that will benefit each country.
At a time when it might seem politically advantageous to say no to free trade and globalization, Canada is moving toward it in haste.
And this in the background:
Xi has expanded China’s eagerness in an expanding active role in global governance, doubling down on the One Belt One Road initiative (also elevated into the Party Constitution), state controlled global trade , and global institutional reforms. This stands in sharp contrast to the U.S.’s recent withdrawal away from global governance which ensures a steady flow of Chinese governance in its absence, initiatives on the global sphere.
On the military and security side, Xi committed on the one hand never to seek domination, yet also doubled down on assertiveness in the South China Sea and zones of competition. One may assume that the latter part indicates both a continued commitment to the military, as a core constituency which he has been forcefully restructuring and reforming and a true belief in asserting China’s position on the global security chessboard. The news for Taiwan and Hong Kong was similarly tough and assertive.
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